


Fatherly Bonding

by yastaghr



Series: Scribbling is its own Language - Oneshots [20]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: Big Brother Sans (Undertale), Camping, Family Fluff, Fluff, Gen, Good W. D. Gaster, Parent W. D. Gaster, Phineas and Ferb References, Shopping, Singing, Younger Brother Papyrus (Undertale)
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-12-24
Updated: 2019-12-24
Packaged: 2021-02-26 01:15:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,234
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21935083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/yastaghr/pseuds/yastaghr
Summary: Secret Santa gift ficGaster (dadster), Papyrus, and Sans spend some time together bonding over camping, fun, and the stars. Pure fluff.
Relationships: Papyrus & Sans (Undertale), W. D. Gaster & Papyrus, W. D. Gaster & Papyrus & Sans, W. D. Gaster & Sans
Series: Scribbling is its own Language - Oneshots [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/667640
Comments: 10
Kudos: 47





	Fatherly Bonding

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Pentoll6](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Pentoll6/gifts).



“hey pops,” Sans popped the P. He was standing in the doorway of Gaster’s study. 

The other monster had been bent over his paperwork. He gladly took the excuse to turn away from it and smile at his son. [Yes, Sans? What is it?] he signed.

Sans’ eternal grin widened. “tomorrow’s father’s day. me and pap were thinking about taking you up the mountain to spend the night under the stars. we got the camping permit and the telescope, all we need is the supplies. you game for a little shopping? it’s on us. we know you used to like camping when you were a kid. maybe we can make this a regular thing.”

Gaster’s eye lights sparkled. He loved camping! He signed, [I have to admit I had lost track of the date. Is it really tomorrow?]

Sans nodded. “yup. i figured i’d give you a heads up before pap pulled a repeat of last year.”

[Thank you,] Gaster signed with a shudder. [I don’t think I could handle being rolled up in my blankets and carried off over his shoulder. Do you think he’ll try to do it again?]

Sans smiled. “yep. he’s so cool. so, shopping?”

Gaster shook the cobwebs out of his skull. [Of course. Can we go to that one human store? The one with the acronym? I heard that part of every purchase right now is donated to the national parks.]

“that’s a pretty good cause,” Sans said agreeably. “sure. let me go get pap, he’s super excited.”

Gaster nodded, standing up. [I’ll go find my shoes.]

* * *

“WOWIE! I DIDN’T KNOW THAT HIKING BOOTS CAME IN SO MANY VARIETIES. THIS WILL SURELY BE A DIFFICULT CHOICE, BUT IT IS NOTHING TO THE GREAT PAPYRUS!”

Gaster looked at his youngest son suspiciously. Sometimes he deeply suspected Papyrus was acting this way on purpose. He didn’t want to say anything, though. What if he was wrong? Anyways, Papyrus seemed to be having fun. Who was he to ruin a good jape?

“i don’t think they’re all gonna fit you, bro. some of them are for kids,” Sans said congenially.

“I SUSPECT THAT WILL MAKE THE DECISION EASIER. WHICH DO YOU THINK I SHOULD START WITH, DAD?” Papyrus asked.

Gaster considered the options. [I think you should try the tall brown ones on the bottom row. They look about your size. Sans, maybe you should try those fluffy ones? I know you like to be comfortable. I’m going to try the purple ones because, well, they’re purple and that’s my favorite colour. Oh! We’ll need to get some of those thick socks for everyone. We can use the test ones for now.]

They all went over to the wall and grabbed the appropriate pair of boots, then brought them back to the half-log benches set up for the purpose. There was already a bag next to them with sleeping bags, a tent, some cookware, and a Bunsen burner. Sitting next to the bag were three camelbak backpacks, the kind with a water bag and a little straw to suck water out of. One was orange and red, another was blue, and the last was purple. This theme was carried on in the sleeping bags. The tent was green and tan. It could also technically sleep 6 people, but Gaster had said they could invite their friends in the future. Sans in particular was looking forward to bringing Frisk. 

Sans fell absolutely in love with the fluffy hiking boots. They hugged his feet perfectly. He could care less about their performance. He could always take a shortcut back home if he needed to. 

Papyrus didn’t like the brown boots, but the black ones he tried after that were good. He stamped around happily to make sure they worked. One of the employees showed him the little terrain test floor panel. He had a blast with it.

Gaster just couldn’t seem to find a pair he found comfortable. Everything was too wide or too narrow, too tight or too loose. Eventually a kind-hearted employee got one of their less popular boots down from the very top of the wall of shoes. This one was an older model with yellow laces. He tried them on and finally, finally he had found a pair of shoes that fit him. He was glad to pay the high price for this pair of hiking boots. He knew they would last.

* * *

“no one’s looking, dad. do you want to do it?”

Gaster cast a surreptitious look around the freezer aisle. Papyrus was stationed at the far end of it. He was pretending to look at the frozen juice offerings. In reality he was keeping watch. Sans was sitting in the bed of the cart with all their snacks. He liked surprising random shoppers who thought he was a kid. But with what they were planning to do he might as well be. Gaster had been pushing the cart normally. Someone had to, and it gave him the chance to talk to his son. 

He wasn’t using that opportunity right now, though. Instead he took a few running steps and hopped onto the cart. The wind of their passage caressed his skull as they rocketed down the aisle. Gaster had the biggest grin on his face, but he resisted the urge to whoop. That would draw attention to them, and he really didn’t want that attention when he was technically breaking the rules. But oh, the heady stuff of it. It made his soul pound with excitement.

Sans was laughing like crazy. It wasn’t the deep chuckle he usually used, but it was his. It sounded more like the laughter he’d had as a kid. That only made this feel better for Gaster. 

Gaster dragged his feet to slow them to a stop before they ran into Papyrus. His youngest son was watching them with fond happiness. If he were any smaller Gaster would have invited him to take a turn in the cart. Alas, Papyrus had inherited Gaster’s height. Not only that, but he had improved on it. A ride in the cart was simply not possible.

“THAT LOOKED LIKE AN EXCELLENT AMOUNT OF FUN, DAD. MAY I TAKE A TURN WITH SANS IN THE CART?”

Sans’ eyes were sparkling like stars, and Papyrus was looking at him with puppy dog eyes. Who was he to resist all that? “Go ahead, my son. Just let me get to the other end of the aisle to block it off for you first.”

* * *

“...Gitchi gitchi goo wap~”

“never gonna stop~”

“GITCHI GITCHI GOO MEANS THAT I LOVE YOU~!”

All three skeletons in the classic red convertible burst into laughter as the song ended. Papyrus scrunched his eyes for a moment, less than the time it takes to blink. He was a very conscientious driver; if there had been anyone else on the road, he wouldn’t have even done that. Gaster was sitting in the passenger seat, and his snorting lasted much longer. Sans’ low chuckle sounded from the jump seat. He was the only one that fit.

Papyrus dialed down the volume of the radio and asked his family, “WHAT DO YOU WANT TO LISTEN TO NEXT? ROCK? COUNTRY?”

Gaster tilted his head back and hummed. “How about the college station? They always have excellent music. We should be able to get them up here still. I think they’re on 102.3? That or 103.2, I can never remember which way it goes.”

“the decimals are always odd,” Sans supplied helpfully, “so it’s gotta be 102.3.”

“THAT SOUNDS GOOD TO ME!” Papyrus said excitedly. “I’LL DIAL INTO IT NOW.”

“Let me do it, Papyrus. You should keep your eyes on the road,” Gaster’s voice held a touch of worry. Cars were still new to all of them, and just the idea of driving gave him the willies. He didn’t want anything to distract his son while he was doing this dangerous task. It scared him.

“OKAY, DAD!” Papyrus said agreeably. Gaster let out a sigh of relief and adjusted the dial, then the volume. A familiar song came through.

“Oh my love

Please run away

Monster King

Forbids your stay…”

Gaster and Sans both groaned. “Why won’t they let that song die already? It should never have been inflicted on anyone...except maybe as a form of mild torture.”

Papyrus huffed indignantly. “I DON’T UNDERSTAND WHAT YOU TWO HAVE AGAINST THIS SONG. IT’S AN IMPORTANT PART OF OUR MONSTER HERITAGE. EVERYONE SHOULD HEAR AND KNOW IT. BESIDES, IT’S NOT THAT LONG.”

“bro, it doesn’t rhyme, like, at all. or keep to the same word pattern. or sound...um, gently...on the ear,” Sans complained. 

Papyrus sniffed. “FINE, THEN, WE CAN LISTEN TO SOMETHING ELSE. DAD?”

Gaster was already dialing. “I’m going. How about some jazz? I don’t think you’ve listened to much of that.”

“ACTUALLY,” Papyrus contradicted gently, “THERE WAS QUITE A LOT OF JAZZ MUSIC IN THE UNDERGROUND WHILE YOU WERE...NOT THERE. SANS EVEN PLAYED HIS TROMBONE IN A BAND FOR A FEW YEARS! HE WAS VERY GOOD, ALTHOUGH I DON’T REMEMBER HIM EVER PRACTICING. DID YOU PRACTICE, SANS?”

Sans nodded. “i did it in the forest, though. i didn’t want to wake you if you were actually sleeping.”

“Aww, that is so sweet of-” Gaster began proudly. 

Papyrus interrupted him. “SANS! YOU KNOW I NEVER SLEEP. I JUST TAKE THE OCCASIONAL POWER NAP!”

Gaster chuckled. “You always were a little terror that way. I got so many lectures from my family about how much sleep you should be getting. That was the reason we moved out to Snowdin. I just couldn’t handle any more contempt.”

“that’s fair. i remember the time aunt lucida tried to get a prescription of sleep medicine for you, pap. that didn’t go over well, heh,” Sans chuckled.

Gaster giggled. “No, it didn’t. It took her eight doctors before she found someone unscrupulous enough to do it. Then, when she tried to make you drink it, you threw it up all over her new dress because it tasted so horribly. It served her right, honestly. You weren’t her kid. She’d never even had kids. I think she still hasn’t.”

Sans said, “i don’t know if this counts, but she adopted cousin garamond’s twins when he fell down. they were in their last year of high school, though, so it’s not like she had to do any of the work.”

“AND YOU DO SO MUCH WORK IT’S ASTONISHING!” Papyrus said with what might be sincerity or irony depending on how you looked at it. Yes, Gaster decided, Papyrus was definitely doing this on purpose.

“heh, you know me. always ready to volunteer,” Sans joked.

Gaster let a maniacal grin slip onto his face. Oh, this was going to be good. “Well, then I suppose you wouldn’t mind volunteering to carry the cooler and the Bunsen burner, would you? We would certainly appreciate the effort.”

He peeked in the rearview mirror and saw the sweat drop down Sans’ skull. Yes! Score!

Sans sighed. “fine. i’ll carry them on the way up. we’ll see about the way down.”

Gaster chuckled. “Yes, we will.”

* * *

Three skeletons lay on a sandstone rock, staring up at the glowing stars above them. Around them was perfect silence...or maybe not. The foliage not too far away rustled. They all turned slowly to look. A mother deer followed her little fawn out into the open. The animals didn’t seem to notice them until they were almost stepping on Gaster. The feel of his clothes underneath her hooves made the mama deer jump. She and her fawn bolted back into the foliage.

With the silence effectively ruined, Gaster sighed with disappointment. “And here I was, hoping that I’d finally get to feel what a deer’s fur felt like.”

Sans chuckled. Papyrus furrowed his brow, not that you could see it in the moonless night. “WHY DON’T WE STOP AT THE NATURE CENTER ON OUR WAY HOME TOMORROW? THEY HAVE SKINS FROM ROADKILL THAT ARE THERE FOR PEOPLE TO TOUCH. I’M SURE THEY HAVE A DEERSKIN IN THEIR COLLECTION. THEN YOU COULD KNOW.”

Gaster blinked. A smile slowly spread across his face. “I would love to do that, Papyrus. I didn’t know they had a nature center near here.”

“the park runs it. it’s not as good as some of the bigger parks, but it’s nice. it’s air conditioned, too. tomorrow is supposed to be really hot in the afternoon. like, ridiculously hot. i heard they were warning people downtown to stay inside. there’s no shade there,” Sans chimed in.

Gaster fretted, “I hope it doesn’t start early and hurt one of us. It is a long way back to the car.”

“NO NEED TO FRET! AT THIS ELEVATION WE WILL STAY COOL FOR MUCH LONGER. WE ALSO HAVE THE EXTRA ICE AND DRINKS IN THE COOLER. THOSE WILL HELP.,” Papyrus sighed, “AND I SUPPOSE SANS CAN ALWAYS USE ONE OF HIS SHORTCUTS IF THE NEED IS DIRE. OR YOU CAN, DAD.”

Gaster smiled. “That’s true. I suppose I should leave worrying about that until it happens. Right now I want to enjoy this special moment with my two favorite sons in the world and watch the stars.”

Sans jumped on this opportunity to talk about his favorite subject. “speaking of stars, did you know that those seven stars over there…”

**Author's Note:**

> You can find me on:
> 
> Pillowfort - https://www.pillowfort.social/Yastaghr
> 
> Tumblr - https://yastaghr.tumblr.com
> 
> Twitter - https://twitter.com/yastaghr


End file.
